New Delhi, May 8 (KNN) The government has called a meeting with e-commerce companies and organisations involved in publishing online reviews on May 15, 2024 to discuss a proposed quality control order aimed at cracking down on fake reviews.

The Consumer Affairs Ministry has floated a draft of the Online Consumer Reviews (Quality Control) Order, 2024 which mandates that reviews must come from verified purchasers and users of the product or service.

The draft order requires e-commerce sites and review platforms to register with the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) and declare compliance with its requirements.

It prohibits publishing reviews that have been paid for or written by individuals employed for that purpose by the platform, seller, supplier or third party.

The order also bars platforms from preventing negative reviews from being published and from rewarding consumers based on the content of their reviews. Platforms will be prohibited from editing reviews.

Reviews must come from individuals who have actually used or experienced the product or service being reviewed.

The order aims to crackdown on the widespread problem of fake and misleading reviews that influence online purchasing decisions. E-commerce sites and review administrators will have to implement processes to verify reviews before publishing them.

"This stakeholder consultation is an important step to get feedback and finalise guidelines to restore trust in the online reviews ecosystem," said a senior official.

The proposed quality control framework comes amid growing instances of paid review rings and businesses employing firms to post bogus reviews praising their products or criticising rivals.

(KNN Bureau)